UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The Boston Bruins might do well to wear construction-worker hard hats when they visit the Nassau Coliseum today rather than their regular hockey helmets.

The New York Islanders are a disaster area.

Since the calendar turned to ’09, the Islanders are 0-5-0. And they’ve been outscored 19-13 over that span. Things are ugly on Long Island and might be getting uglier. With Rick DiPietro battling a balky knee and Joey MacDonald suffering a groin injury Tuesday, the Isles could be forced to use No. 3 on their depth chart — Yann Danis — between the pipes. Heck, goaltending coach Mike Dunham was ready to sign up and suit up Tuesday is necessary.

The Islanders just don’t do anything really well. They’re 29th in goals allowed per game, 23rd in goals for, 17th in power play and 13th in penalty kill — hence their hold on 15th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference. With a vital rematch with Washington coming up Saturday, this is a game the Bruins have to put in the ‘W’ column, and maybe do it with ease.

Season series: This is just the second meeting of the year between the Bruins and Isles. The Bruins won the previous meeting, 7-2, on the day after American Thanksgiving. The teams will meet twice more this season.

What they’re writing:Greg Logan of Newsday can’t pull away the veil of mystery over the Islanders’ goaltending situation. NYI Point Blank says the Islanders didn’t have interested in waived Vancouver goaltender Curtis Sandford; instead they’re focusing on bringing back Wade Dubielewicz. Yesterday NYI Point Blank had a chat with Blake Comeau.

New York Player to Watch: As they fade farther and farther out of contention, the Isles will no doubt be looking to deal off veteran players as the March 4 trade deadline approaches. The Bruins will be buyers, so it couldn’t hurt to take a look at Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Brendan Witt to see if they might fit in with the Black and Gold. Guerin might be the most appealing with his history with the city of Boston, his ties to the region and the fact that he plays wing. Through 43 games, Guerin has put up 13-18-31 totals and a minus-8 rating this season.